Our People in Asia
Testimonials
Cally Fang is a senior associate in the Mergers & Acquisitions group in our Hong Kong office. She worked in the Sydney office for four years before transferring to the Hong Kong office.
I have lived in Sydney for most of my life and after working for about four years in the Sydney office, I decided that my life needed a bit of a shaking up. Personally, this meant an overseas stint - to experience new challenges in my career and to immerse myself in a different city. I transferred to the Hong Kong office in early 2006 and have not looked back.
During my time in Hong Kong, I have been able to build on my Australian experience in a wide range of transactions - whether it be China or Hong Kong based M&A deals, Hong Kong equity capital market transactions or advising Australian and international companies interested in the Chinese, Hong Kong or Taiwanese market.
Hong Kong is all carrot and no stick. With China at its doorstep, it is a fantastic way to develop professionally and to become part of a team that is growing in both experience and in reputation. The Hong Kong and Beijing teams are friendly and great to work with, which made the transition a lot easier.
On a personal level, the city is fast-paced and exciting and there is always lots to do. A big plus is the proximity to lots of exotic Asian destinations - whether it be walking along the Great Wall, relaxing in style in Phuket or camel riding on the Silk Road. Hong Kong is also halfway to European and American destinations - in my time in Hong Kong, I have skied in the French Alps, strolled around Central Park in New York and drove along the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
I have found the whole Hong Kong experience to be very rewarding.
Paul McBride is a foreign lawyer in our Banking and Finance group in Hong Kong. Paul joined Mallesons in February 2005 after working in the Tokyo and London offices of Linklaters for five years.
We decided that it was time to start making our way back to Australia following the birth of our daughter in London in late 2004. I did quite a few deals opposite Mallesons during my time at Linklaters and I also worked alongside many former Mallesons lawyers. Based on these experiences, I knew that Mallesons offered the type of work and environment that appealed to me. So, it was an easy decision to join Mallesons, and an opportunity to do a stint in the expanding Hong Kong office was an added bonus. I am still doing the type of deals I did in London and Tokyo and the teamwork and culture is fantastic.
Hong Kong is an exciting place to work and live. Apart from the many cultural attractions, most people are very optimistic on the deal side particularly in terms of the growing PRC market. With an office in Beijing, Shanghai and one of the largest offices in Hong Kong, we are extremely well placed to capitalise on the opportunities in the PRC and elsewhere in the Asian region. We have strong relationships with firms in all the Asian jurisdictions and we leverage these relationships for our multi-jurisdictional transactions.
Nicolas is a senior associate in Beijing. He joined Mallesons in 2004 after seven years working as a lawyer in Beijing, Shanghai and London.
Outsiders often comment on things like Mallesons lawyers’ attention to detail and near-obsessive devotion to their clients. But for me, a great strength of Mallesons is its Asia-Pacific focus. This is the best time to be in China. I have been working in China on and off since 1991 and it's where my life is now.
Some say Beijing is a dusty sprawling city filled with bureaucrats, and that Shanghai is the place for business. But I say Beijing is a city with a real cultural edge to it - great art, museums and beautiful hills around the city. And Beijing will always have the best investment environment in China, because all the central government departments, like the Ministry of Commerce and the People's Bank of China, are located here. So if you need high-level approval for a project, you're in the right place to get it. Even more important, Beijing attracts talented people from all over the country, who bring great talent and ideas with them - just like my colleagues.
As for my practice, there is a colossal amount of M&A work. However, like all the lawyers in the Beijing office I do all kinds of legal work outside my normal scope. I have worked on employment related matters, renewable energy, and education law all in the last few months, as well as the usual foreign direct investment projects.
My decision to join Mallesons was one of my best.
Joel Brown is a foreign lawyer in our Banking and Finance group in Hong Kong. Joel started at Mallesons in 2002 as a paralegal and entered into our summer clerkship in 2005. After graduation, Joel became a Law Graduate of our Brisbane office in 2006. Joel worked in Brisbane and Sydney offices before transferring to the Hong Kong office in 2007
I’d worked in Mallesons’ Brisbane office for a year and a half before moving to Hong Kong.
Having studied and worked in the mainland during university, I’d always been fascinated by China and saw the relocation as an exciting opportunity to develop this interest.
The new catch-cry is that Asia is the way of the future, and there is no better evidence of this than the city of Hong Kong itself. You can almost feel the wheels of industry turning. The underlying Chinese influences, mixed with a multitude of nationalities and cultures make Hong Kong a unique and exciting place to be.
The firm itself manages to maintain a fantastic “small office" feel despite having one of the largest presences in the region out of all the international firms. Everyone is incredibly friendly, and went out of their way to help me settle in.
Locals themselves are extremely accepting of new-comers. There is no shortage of groups to join, or activities to do on weekends, such as hiking, wakeboarding or surfing (oh, and the "Knitting Heirloom Baby Gifts" course run by the YWCA is a must).
Hong Kongers definitively live the work hard/ play hard mantra. During the day we work with some of the world’s largest investment banks, establishing debt programmes and exploring structuring options in the mainland. At night, everything is open until the wee hours, and happy hour lasts until 10pm!
In short, there’s no place I'd prefer to be.
King Lai is a solicitor in the Banking & Finance group in our Hong Kong office. He joined Hong Kong office as a trainee solicitor in 2005 and worked in Sydney for 6 months as part of his trainee rotations.
“Originally from Hong Kong, I moved to the United Kingdom when I was thirteen to further my studies. After I completed my secondary education, I moved on to do my first degree in America, double majoring in international relations and economics with a special focus in East Asian politics and history, before returning once again to the United Kingdom to read law at King’s College London. I speak Cantonese and Mandarin and studied Spanish and Japanese in secondary school.
I joined the Mallesons Hong Kong office as a trainee solicitor in 2005 and spent my first rotation with the Banking and Finance team. I was immediately involved in a number of securitisation transactions, which was daunting at first, because prior to joining the team I had only a very vague idea as to what securitisation was. But there was a lot of guidance and support from the partners and senior associates, and in the end I felt that I was making a valuable contribution.
I spent the next 6 months with the Hong Kong Mergers and Acquisitions team and was excited to be involved in a few of the most high profile initial public offerings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange during the time.
For my final rotation, I was fortunate to be offered the opportunity to go on a 6-month secondment at the firm's Sydney office - the transition between Hong Kong and Sydney was seamless thanks to the hospitality of the Sydney colleagues, the help and support of everyone who had arranged for the secondment and the surprisingly similar cultures between the two offices!
Since qualification as a Hong Kong solicitor, I have been involved in a variety of banking and corporate finance work, including leveraged financing, asset financing, trade and receivables financing, initial public offering and other commercial matters.
The culture at Mallesons is formal yet extremely friendly. In addition to our regular practice group meetings, we have social gatherings, including Friday night drinks, the annual Christmas party, legal staff dinner and many others.”
Scarlet So works in the Banking & Finance group in Hong Kong. She joined Hong Kong office as a trainee solicitor in 2006 and worked in Sydney for 6 months as part of the trainee rotation program.
“I made a major decision in 2006 by joining Mallesons as a trainee solicitor. During my traineeship, I was able to rotate to three different practice teams in Hong Kong, namely Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Services and Dispute Resolution. After that I was offered a fantastic opportunity to be transferred to our Sydney centre’s Banking & Finance team for a 6-month secondment.
Mallesons provided me with unique opportunities to get involved in some very high profile transactions. I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of talented people, including colleagues and clients. The experience has been very intellectually nurturing (and challenging, of course!) and has definitely helped me to develop the many attributes a lawyer needs to have.
My time with Mallesons is not only about “work” - we work hard, and play hard! I have been actively involved in the firm’s dragon boat, marathon and netball teams. The firm also offers us other social activities such as movie nights, the staff Christmas party, Friday night drinks, monthly morning tea… and many more!
I have also witnessed a real “work-life balance” in this firm - here’s a snapshot of what I have done in the past two years: diving in various spots of the Pacific Ocean, having sushi and ramen in Tokyo, sailing around the Great Barrier Reef, skiing in Whistler, enjoying spa treatments in Phuket, polishing my knowledge in history in Egypt and hiking in the Blue Mountains… where else would I be offered such quality of life?”
Derek Poon works in our Mergers and Acquisitions group in Hong Kong. He started at Mallesons in 2005 as a winter clerk in Hong Kong and worked part time as a paralegal whilst completing his studies in Sydney. After graduation, he became a Law Graduate of our Sydney office in 2007. Derek rejoined the Hong Kong office in August 2008 after completing the PCLL program.
“Completing a seasonal clerkship with Mallesons in Hong Kong allowed me to experience the firm's friendly culture and the opportunity to learn from a group of diversely skilled lawyers.
There was a great deal of support and attention given to us by all staff, beginning with my initial interview in Sydney to the completion of the clerkship in Hong Kong. I am continually impressed by the firm's open door policy which all adds to the pleasant work atmosphere.
I was fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work in the Sydney office before relocating to Hong Kong and this was definitely an invaluable and eye opening experience. Among some of the highlights of this experience include qualifying as a solicitor in New South Wales after completing the firm's PLT program and playing in the firm's soccer team.
I am currently working in the Hong Kong office's Mergers & Acquisitions group assisting in private M&A, private equity and joint venture work. Within the first few months of my traineeship, I have already been involved in matters spanning a number of different Asian jurisdictions which all adds to the interesting and challenging nature of the work involved. The learning curve is steep and there is a great deal of responsibility given to trainees but there is always close partner and senior associate supervision and meaningful feedback.
As both a clerk and a trainee, I have been given many opportunities for professional development through attending internal training seminars and external industry conferences. We are also well looked after with regards to the social aspects of working life with paintball, bowling, karaoke, team lunches and themed drinks being some examples of activities organised by the firm.
My enjoyable experience at Mallesons to date has confirmed my decision to commence my legal career with Mallesons was the right one.”